Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-12-29

couldn't, and he had to leave there faster
than he come, and he done mighty we'll TO
get erway at all.
"It warn't long after this till one night
Len he heerd horses feet, and he know
ed thar was trouble. He lit oaten bed
and got fixed for er fight, and he blowea
his horn to call up help, and he knowed
he'd have help in er few minutes, anc the
fellows what was GROUND his house know
ed it, too, so they let in to do what they
did do in mighty quick order. 1t was the
conscript officer that was there eriong
with er lot OF cavelry that he'd been over
TO Wedowee and got, and they war gwlne
to take Len dead or erl1ve. They didn't
take him though, but they beat down that
front door yonder and fired right into
the house. and the balls killed two sweet
little girls of LENS, and by this time
LENS crowd was in hearing and their
horses hoofs could be heerd, SO the caval-
ry and the conscript officer fairly flew
away from here and outen these noun
tains. Lens two little girls were PILED
and they are buried right down yonder
by that tree, and there is er block cut
outen the tree and piece Of plank is tit
into it that has the names of all that cav
airy crowd on it, aad Len he knelt down
| by his little girls that night when they
were killed, and he raised his hand to
heaven and swore that he would kill every
man that was in the crowd, or he'd lose
his own life in the attempt.
''Thar are eighteen names on that piece
of PLANK down yonder by them graves,
and every one of EN- have got X opposite
but oEe, which is er sight that they have
been killed. They have all been killed
but one, and he was the captain and the
very main one that Len wanted to kill,
for he heerd him give the order fire."
| x x
''Len had only one child left; she was
er baby just twelve months old. and it
got so after erwhile that he couldn't stay
at home and his wife couldn't stay, SO she
took the little babe and started 10 GO over
into Georgia somewhere to some of her
kin. She took the train at West Point
and went up to Atlanta, and thar she took
| the train to go to GAINESVILLE. 1t was a
long train loaded with soldiers, and she
was the only woman on the whole train
and that little babe was the only babe on
the train. She was sitting right on er
seat by the stove that they kept on trains,
| though thar warn't no fire, because it was
summer, and the little babe was sitting
right down on the floor playing, and
erything was running erlong smoothly,
when all of er sudden thar was er train
come meeting US and everything was tore
all to pieces. Everybody in that box was
badly hurt or killed, and Lens wife was
killed, and she had nothing erbout her TO
tell who she was or Whar she was from.
The Yankee prisoners that were aboard
the train on their way to Andersonville
dug into the dead and the wounded, and
thar was the mother, the only woman on
the train, dead, and the little babe sittin'
there playin with a piece of the shat
tered stove, saying, Ma, ma, ma; pa, pa,
pa as it would laugh and hit the floor
with piece of.the stove andspat it's littI
hands in puddle of its mothers blood.
Them war bad times.
"Now, I want to tell you erbout that
little babe and why it was that the cap
tain of that conscript gang that killed
LENS little girls escaped, while all the
rest war killed and LENS x mark put op-
posite their names yonder on that tree
aad how it was I came to know all erbout
4 it."
Here old man Plunket moved off a few
steps TO the spring-for we had long since
alighted from the wagon and had eaten
lunch under one of the oaks. After the
old man had drank and lit his pipe, he
sat down and continued:
"One of the big Yankee prisoners took
the little babe in his arms and went and
washed the blood often it with some water
that run from the mashed up tender, and
he didn't know what to do with the little
thing, so be seed old man Williams Ell
sittin' off er piece not much. hurt, and be
took the little babe and put it in his arms
and told him to take care of it. Old man
Williams never had no children, and be
didn't know how to manage the little
thing, but he done the best he could, and
thar warn't nobody else that wanted the
babe, SO the old man had to keep it, and
he growed to love it the same as if it was
his own little babe, and when he took il
home and give it to his old 'oman she
fairly danced, and they kept it and raised
it, and it was always called Lena Williams
and it never did know, and don't know
till this day any difference betwixt these
two old people and shure enough fathei
and mother.
"Weu," continued PIunket, IT enc
growed up to be as pretty er young lady
as thar was anywhere in Pike county, and
she married arter q while, and old man
Williams willed her everything be had
and so she was rich and happy, and is tc
this day, 1 hope.
"The war was over, and Len Clinton
started out TO travel the world over, to
find his wife and little one and to fulfill
the VOW he had made kueeling beside
his dead children, 20 kill every man that
came to his house on that sad night.
'He wrote to every one in Georgia that
he knew for intelligence Of his wife and
Tr%I H. II
| then wrote to the other states, and waited
and watched fer their coming. Years
passed, his hair grew gray, he rcved the
| woods, looking into every nook and corner
TO see If he might not find the bones of
his loved ones, murdered and hid away.
He got to be called Crazy Len, people
were afraid of him, and he drifted off to
Texas and then he came back to Alabama,
and then he went over TO Georgia, and he